


I Would Share My Hospital Bed with You

by Sheksper



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Car Accidents, Eventual Relationships, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Hospitals, Hurt Keith (Voltron), Keith and Shiro are Adoptive Siblings, M/M, Misunderstandings, Motorcycles, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-09 04:02:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11661222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sheksper/pseuds/Sheksper
Summary: Lance and Keith; neck and neck, hand in hand, never one without the other.That is, until Lance takes the leap and asks Keith out. Things don't go as planned and Keith, well, he's very good at breaking things, be it laws, bones, or Lance's heart.





	I Would Share My Hospital Bed with You

**Author's Note:**

> Just a short one shot because I'm working on some longer fics but wanted something to upload anyways.  
> Thanks to my dude, bud, bro, mate, pal who helped me pick a title. And thanks to my sister who said she would beta this but actually didn't because I was too excited to wait, but the sentiment was there.

Anyone who knew Lance, thought that he was an overdramatic boy who would use the cheesiest pickup lines and the most convoluted plans he could dream just to get attention. No crazy schemes were too out there if it meant that Lance got a date or a number. Because Lance was desperate and would take attention from anyone. He was just another guy, alone at the bar, thinking he’s hot shit with nothing to prove.

Except, anyone who actually knew Lance, knew that that wasn’t true. He was a master of sphallolalia. If he saw a person who he found attractive, he would flirt, that’s just what he would do. It brought him a lot of joy to exchange pointless flirtations with others, even when he didn’t want or expect anything from the people he flirted with. Lance’s sights were set on someone anyways, and all of Lance’s friends knew sans that someone; Keith.

Luckily enough for Lance, Keith was a generally oblivious person when it came to the way others felt. That wasn’t to say that Keith couldn’t tell how others were feeling or wasn’t empathetic towards people, he just struggled to decipher what others would call ‘tells’ or ‘signs’. A girl might laugh a little too much at his joke, twirl her hair, touch his shoulder or arm, smile, bite her lip, lean in closer, and everyone in the vicinity would be able to tell that she was into the guy, but all of that sort of subtly just went right over Keith’s head. There was just no way that Keith would have figured out that Lance was smitten by him, which was both a blessing and a curse for Lance. It meant that he was, for the most part, in the clear, but it also meant that if he wanted Keith to know, then he would have to spell it out really carefully.

Lance kicked his legs in the open space below the playground platform he sat on. He twirled the straw in his McDonald’s cup and listened to the clinking of the ice at the bottom. It was getting darker outside so soon they would have to head back to the house, but they still had enough time. He stared down at the monkey bars next to him where Keith was seated, his legs dangling in between the bars. There was a soft breeze fluttering his hair back as he stared out into the distance. The soft glow of the setting sun lit up Keith’s face in a way that made Lance’s mouth go dry. Keith’s intense eyebrows were furrowed in a glare of concentration, like he was trying to figure something out, and his lips were downturned in the slightest of frowns.

“Lance?” He called quietly. A voice against the soft buzzing of mosquitoes and the distant rumbles of cars.

There was a sudden lurch in Lance’s heart as he realized that he had been staring at Keith for a while. “Yeah?” He answered, just as soft.

Keith didn’t speak for a moment and Lance studied his facial expression, letting his eyes wander all over the other boy’s face. That same look of deep absorption into his thoughts didn’t leave. Lance held his breath without meaning to as he waited for Keith to continue. Then, almost as if he were telling a secret, he whispered into the cool night air again.

“Why doesn’t the Kool-Aid man break when he smashes through the brick wall?” The furrow in his brows deepened.

Lance blinked. “What?”

“He’s a glass pitcher, Lance. Or is he made of really hard plastic? That would still break…” Keith squinted slightly before lifting his head to stare up at the sky.

Lance blinked again.

“Maybe they aren’t bricks… Maybe they’re trying to tell us that the Kool-Aid makes him strong enough to break the brick wall?” Keith slowly lowered himself until he was resting his back along the bars.

“That’s what you were thinking about?” Lance asked, chuckling.

“It’s just been on my mind.” Keith lifted his head to stare at Lance with full seriousness.

Lance laughed again and Keith scowled. “I think the glass is a metaphor for how fragile the Kool-Aid man is, and the brick wall is all the struggles he’s overcome in his life, and he uses the Kool-Aid – which symbolizes his blood or his life – to raise the spirits of children and create hope for them for the future.” Lance rested his head on the playground support next to him.

Keith shimmied himself back up into a sitting position. “Do you really believe that’s what it means?” He raised an eyebrow.

“No, I made that up on the spot. But it was pretty good though! My English teacher doesn’t know what she’s talking about, I can analyze things.” Lance smiled proudly and took another sip of his cherry cola, which was mostly flat by that point.

Keith smiled and shook his head, staring off into the distance. “Or, maybe it’s just a regular man on an intense acid trip and he thinks he a glass pitcher full of Kool-Aid who smashes through brick walls.” Keith concluded.

Lance snorted, nearly choking on his drink, before coughing once and giggling. He was a little tired. “Hey, hey, Keith. Play a game with me.” Lance kicked a foot out at Keith but he was too far away for it to do anything except waggle in the air.

“What game?” Keith asked, tilting his head curiously to the side. Lance couldn’t help but find that adorable.

Lance thought for a moment. What game? What game? Hmm. “Fuck, marry, kill.” He finally settled on.

Keith groaned and kicked a leg out. “That game is so stupid.”

“C’mon, Keith!” Lance cheered. “Here, I’ll go first; Pidge, Rolo, and Allura.” He smirked.

Carefully as he could, Keith stood on the monkey bars, using his arms for balance as he made his way across, in the opposite direction as Lance. “I don’t wanna fuck any of them…” Keith mumbled after he got to the end. There was a look of frustration on his face for a moment and Lance huffed a laugh. “These are terrible options… Rolo is a dick but he’s also got a dick… This isn’t fair…” Lance wasn’t sure if Keith was speaking to him or himself but he continued to laugh.

Finally, Keith looked up. “Alright, I’ll marry Allura for the tax benefits and we can have an open relationship. I’ll fuck Rolo but I’ll break his leg after. That’s not a kink, I just hate him.” Keith clarified. Maybe it was from the 1:00 A.M. vibes Lance was getting while at the park in the dark with Keith, or maybe he was just tired, but Lance couldn’t help but cackle. “And I’ll kill Pidge because she wants to die anyways.” Keith finished.

“Amazing, good answer.” Lance responded through his laughter.

Keith pulled himself up onto the next platform over. “Coran, Nyma, and…” He paused. “Shay.”

“What! No, I can’t do anything to Shay! Hunk would kill me!” Lance nearly dropped his cola as he waved his arm about.

“Yes, but depending on your choice, he might kill you _less_.” Keith pointed out, stepping off the platform with one foot and using his other, as well as a hand wrapped around the railing, to hold himself there.

Lance groaned. “Okay. I’m not going to kill Shay and I’m definitely not going to fuck her, so I’ll marry her. Hunk, please forgive me.” He pressed a hand to his heart and stared up into the sky dramatically. Keith snickered and pulled himself back onto the playground. “I really don’t wanna fuck Nyma after what she did, but I also really don’t wanna fuck Coran…” He cringed.

“Good ol’ uncle Coran.” Keith stared down and shook his head.

Lance winced again before answering. “Coran had a good run, I’ll kill him. Then I guess I fuck Nyma.” Lance scrunched up his face in disgust while Keith just laughed. “Okay, your turn… Hmm…”

Keith slowly lowered himself from the platform he was on until he finally jumped down the rest of the way onto a little bridge connecting both of their little playground castles. He wandered across the bridge, over to Lance’s side, and climbed up the side until he was standing on the bridge railing, high enough that he could rest his head on his arms next to where Lance sat.

“Matt, Clyde, and–” Lance was cut off.

“Clyde? Who’s Clyde?” Keith lifted his head to give a confused look to Lance, who, if he had his head on properly, wouldn’t have found that nearly half as attractive as he did.

“Clyde Z. Everyone calls him Klaizap.” Lance reminded.

Keith continued to look confused, then suddenly his eyes lit up with recognition. “Oh! That kid who won’t stop bothering me.”

“Yeah. The one you threatened with a switchblade? That’s the one, Keith.” There was clear accusation in his tone but it was playful. “Right. So, Matt, Klaizap, and...” There was a very certain person he wanted to add the last one but something was telling him it was a bad idea. Keith was oblivious, sure, but somewhere, that obliviousness had to have a limit. But, before Lance could convince himself that he was idiot and just say Hunk or something, he finished his thought. “Me.” Lance’s heart suddenly went into overdrive and alarm bells began blaring in his mind, telling him to abort mission, mayday, get out of there, tuck and roll, duck and cover _, anything_.

Keith raised his head again and stared deeply into Lance’s eyes for a second too long. Lance swallowed audibly. He was sure that Keith could see the pink tint that had painted itself along Lance’s cheeks, but he kindly didn’t say anything. Instead, Keith grabbed Lance’s cherry cola and took a long sip before returning it to him and humming thoughtfully. Lance didn’t mind; they shared food all the time, but Lance still felt like the entire situation was charged with energy. Keith’s purple eyes flickered around, as if he could see the answer in front of him and was just reading it over.

After what felt like years, Keith finally spoke. “I’ll kill Klaizap.” That wasn’t what Lance thought Keith would open with, but it caused a rush of air to leave his lungs suddenly. Not in relief, rather, it was pent up stress from the tension that moment had caused. “I was halfway there already.” Keith smirked, joking.

“Keith!” Lance laughed. His voice cracked. He was trying really hard to lose his cool and he began to wonder why he chose this game at all. It really was stupid, Keith was right. Keith was also right _there_. So close, yet so far. Lance just wanted to tangle his fingers in Keith’s long, black hair and have him climb a little farther to kiss Lance senseless. But he couldn’t do that. Had to play it cool.

Keith laughed, a beautiful sound to Lance’s ears, one which he wanted to hear everyday. “I’ll fuck Matt because I feel like we can both just pretend that it didn’t happen afterwards, he’s chill that way.” Keith continued. Something about that made Lance a little jealous, even though it was just a game. Finally, Keith finished. “And I’ll marry you.” He looked dead into Lance’s eyes, seemingly trying to be confident about his answer, but Lance could see the blush blooming on his face, even in the dark. Lance didn’t have any room to judge though, his face was just as red, if not more.

There was a swell of emotions swirling in Lance’s chest. He knew it was a game and he had basically set it up to end along those lines but Keith had still said those words and they still set something off in Lance’s heart. Hoping to gain even the barest semblance of calm, in-his-element, classic Lance-ness, he resorted to flirtatious humour. “I would have treated you better than Matt would.” He clicked his tongue. “What a shame, Keith, you’re missing out on all this.” He dramatically gestured to himself.

Keith’s blush intensified but he wasn’t thrown off. Resting his chin on his hand and staring up at Lance, he jokingly played along. “Naïve Lance. We can fuck all we want if we’re married.” He shook his head like it was the most obvious thing.

Lance’s heart needed a break and he needed to learn how to breath again because the game took a turn. It wasn’t even a nice turn, it was a full U-turn, no braking, no checking for pedestrians. Completely ignored the stop sign, cut a lady off, people are honking. Lance’s mind was getting away from him almost as much as the game was.

Then the dreaded thought crossed Lance’s mind; maybe this was a signal from Keith? Maybe Keith was trying to let Lance know that he was interested? Maybe Lance should go for it?

He couldn’t just come right out and say that he was head-over-heels for Keith, because that could backfire too easily. Instead, he chose to play off the tone of the game already. He needed to answer quickly too or else Keith was going to wonder if he was okay. And no, Lance was a lot of things, but ‘okay’ wasn’t one of them.

“Moving a little fast, aren’t we?” He teased.

Keith chuckled. That was a good sign, keep going.

“How about taking things slow, huh?”

Keith had taken his drink again and was sipping it with an amused glint to his eye.

“Like, say, a date. On Friday.” Lance put on his most charming smile, hoping to persuade Keith.

There was a long pause where all that was heard was the wind and the distant sounds of nature. Oh, and Lance’s heart, beating out of his chest. His hands were shaking and he felt the need to bolt right then and there, but he forced himself to stay, waiting for Keith’s answer. He had to say yes, right?

Keith slowly stopped drinking and pulled the cup away. He tore his gaze away from Lance and locked it onto the sky. There was a slight frown to his lips and Lance could feel the panic bubbling up within him.

“It’s getting late…” Keith whispered. “I should get going before Shiro starts to worry.”

And in that moment, Lance knew what it truly felt like to have his heart broken into pieces. He stared at Keith, wishing that Keith would look to him, smile, and say that he’d love to go on a date with Lance, but it never happened. Keith just avoided his eye, set the cup down, and awkwardly climbed down the playground until he was stood in the gravel again, waiting for Lance. Tears were forming in the corner of Lance’s eyes and there was a sickly heat clawing at the back of his throat and head. He felt hopeless and foolish. His fingers wrapped around the edge of the platform and clenched until they turned white. After a moment of shakily breathing in and out, Lance composed himself enough to climb off and after Keith.

They were still friends. Lance didn’t need to be with Keith that way, he could be happy with friendship. Just getting to see Keith’s grumpy scowls, and hidden smiles, and playful smirks, was enough. Chasing after him and dragging him around was enough. Sharing all their things to the point where they both couldn’t even remember who it originally belonged to, Lance could still do that. Lance was fine with how things were. He didn’t need to be dating Keith for that to bring him happiness. Keith could date people, and Lance could be happy for him, he could encourage him and help him out.

That’s what he told himself as they walked back in silence. He thought about offering Keith the couch for the night since it was so late out and driving a motorcycle in the dark hardly seemed safe, but he didn’t. His mind was so clouded with misery and his body felt like ice. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Keith, let alone form the words to ask. It would have been weird anyways, after what Lance had said and the way Keith had reacted. The tension between them was palpable the entire way to Lance’s house.

Once they were there, Lance really didn’t retain any memory of what happened after that since he was so lost in his own mind. He remembered waving goodbye to Keith, not daring to meet his eyes. He remembered Keith saying he’d see him later. He remembered the roaring of Keith’s motorcycle engine as he pulled out of driveway and retreated down the road until he was out of Lance’s view. He remembered numbly closing his door and trudging to his bedroom before crumpling onto his bed in the dark. And that’s where he stayed, for around an hour.

Outside the window, Lance could see the moon reflecting its light out across the empty street. Tears had stained Lance’s cheeks and he was having trouble breathing without having to sniffle. His chest ached and his stomach felt as though it had dropped into his feet. Lance hadn’t felt the same way about anyone he had ever met as he did about Keith. Keith was something else, he was something special, and Lance’s heart had been ripped out. Before he had asked Keith out, he could live happily just sitting in the limbo between the possibility of Keith liking him back and not liking him at all without really knowing which one it was. But he had ruined that. And he didn’t like the truth.

Suddenly, Lance’s phone rang on the bedside table. Lance cleared his throat, sniffled again, and rubbed the back of his hands over his eyes. Shuffling over the bed, Lance reached for his phone. The caller ID said it was Shiro. What was Shiro calling about at 1:00 in the morning? Maybe he wanted to tell Lance off for asking out his little brother. Reluctantly, he answered the call and pressed the phone to his ear.

“Hello?” Even against his will, Lance’s voice breaks.

Shiro doesn’t notice. Or he doesn’t care. There’s a twinge of concerned panic in his voice, almost unnoticeable. “Hey, Lance, is Keith still with you?”

Lance blinked in confusion. “No…” He answered carefully. “He left an hour ago…”

“Has he contacted you since then?” Shiro’s tone had grown more and more panicked and it was rubbing off on Lance.

“No, he hasn’t. Shiro, what’s going on?”

There was a pause on the other end followed by a lot of shuffling and the opening of a door. “He hasn’t come home and he’s not answering my calls.”

Lance felt the icy tendrils of dread spread through him. This couldn’t have been because of what Lance had done, right? Was it all Lance’s fault? No, Keith was just being his mysterious, brooding self and decided to go on a night drive. He did that sometimes. Yeah, it was fine. Or… maybe Keith was kidnapped. What if he was killed? Keith could be dead right then and Lance was just crying over his broken heart instead of being there to help him.

He quickly hung up on Shiro to contact Hunk and Pidge in a group call. The phone rang a few times before Pidge answered and then Hunk.

“Lance, buddy, it’s late.” Hunk yawned.

“This better be good, Lance, I was busy.” Pidge’s irritated complaint came through.

Lance didn’t bother with much ado, jumping straight to the issue. “Have you guys talked to Keith in the last hour?” He frantically questioned.

“Uh, no…” Pidge said, as though Lance should have known that.

Hunk made a contemplative noise. “Didn’t you say he was hanging out with you tonight?”

Pidge sighed. “Really, Lance? That’s what you called about this late at–”

“Keith is missing; he didn’t make it home.” Lance interrupted her before she could finish.

There was silence for a moment. Lance was pacing the room, completely helpless on what to do.

“Oh man. Okay.” Hunk sounded like he was in shock.

“What do we do?” Lance asked. There were tears threatening his eyes again.

“Where was he going? Where does Keith like to go?” Hunk was beginning to sound just as panicked as Lance and Shiro were.

Pidge finally added. “Uh… I can track his phone, maybe?” She suggested. Something about her voice sounded distant and detached.

“Yeah! Yes! Do that!” Hunk urged quickly.

Lance was crying by then. “I should have just given him a ride back home. This is all my fault, you guys, he could be dead and it’s all my fault!” If he wasn’t careful he would start to hyperventilate.

“Lance, it’s not your fault, he’s probably– Hold on, Shiro is calling.” Hunk pressed a button and then suddenly Shiro was joining their group call.

“The hospital called; Keith is in emergency care.” From the way he was yelling as well as the noises in the background, it was obvious he was in the car.

Lance didn’t even respond, he just bolted out of his room, tripping on clothes which he had left on his floor, and hurrying to his mini van outside. He almost forgot the keys on the way out but luckily, he grabbed them on the way out. Through the phone, he could hear Hunk and Pidge also rushing through their houses.

“Allura and Coran are on their way too.” Shiro added, seeming distracted as he drove to the hospital.

Lance hardly had any patience as he pulled out of the driveway and down the road, nearly hitting his neighbour’s garbage bins.

“Oh god, oh god, oh god.” Hunk was repeating into the phone, fully horrified.

“What happened?” Pidge asked. Her voice broke. “Is he okay? He’s going to be okay, right, Shiro?”

“I don’t know…” Shiro shakily replied. That didn’t ease anyone’s fears.

When Lance finally arrived at the hospital, Shiro, Allura, and Coran were already there. Pidge and Hunk both showed up right after Lance and they all shared a glance before racing into the hospital. Since Keith was still in emergency care, there was nothing any of them could do except sit in the waiting room and hope he made it out in one piece.

Lance’s leg bounced and tears streaked his face. Hunk was twiddling his thumbs and shooting broken looks around the room. Pidge was peeling the skin off her fingers and her lips, doing anything to calm herself down. Her lip was bleeding and there were sore patches on her fingers but she didn’t stop. Shiro was tapping his fingers on his knees while staring at the clock on the wall as if it had just murdered someone. His fingers would drum at a specific pace for awhile, almost matching Lance’s leg, before Shiro would become frustrated and worried, then the tapping would pick up and right when you’d think he was about to snap, he’d stop altogether, only to begin again a moment later. Allura was rocking back and forth slightly, almost unnoticeably so. A collection of her long, white hair was wrapped amongst her fingers, pulled so tight it was cutting off the circulation to her fingers. Then she would release it and start over on a different part of her hand. Coran, sat next to Allura, was still. Uncomfortably still.

Finally, after hours of waiting, the doctor came out. “The family of Keith Kogane?” Shiro and Lance practically leaped from their seats while everyone else straightened up, but didn’t stand. The doctor held out his hands to placate them both. Before he could say anything else, Lance hopped in.

“Is Keith okay?!”

The doctor guided him to sit back down in his seat. “Mr. Kogane was in a car accident and has sustained serious injuries. He’s stable right now and will recover.” Everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief and slouched down in their seats. Hunk released a shaky breath that verged on a sob and Lance instantly began rubbing his friend’s back to soothe him. “His left lung was punctured, a few ribs were damaged, and his left arm was broken. Luckily, he sustained only minimal injuries to the head and legs.”

“Can we see him now?” Shiro asked, glancing behind the doctor into the room he had just exited.

“He’s sleeping now, but as long as you’re quiet, I can let you in one at a time.” The doctor said carefully.

Lance could feel his legs turning to jelly but he pushed onward. Every part of him was shaking and his breathing was sporadic. Once he was allowed into the room where Keith was sleeping, he felt as though he could breathe again. In the hospital bed was Keith.

As Lance approached, he could see Keith’s eyelids were gently closed as he slept. Lance had seen Keith sleep before, not in a creepy way, Keith had just fallen asleep in the middle of movies at Lance’s house before. Yet, never before had Keith looked so calm and peaceful, almost dead. There was an obvious rise and fall of the boy’s chest as well as the steady beeping of the heart monitor, so Lance knew he was alive, but it was still unsettling. Various shallow cuts and bruises were along Keith’s face, neck and arms with a few of the more serious ones being covered in bandages. His left arm was in a cast.

Even though it really wasn’t Lance’s fault, he still felt as though it was. He could have done many things that night which would probably have changed the outcome. He could have kept his mouth shut. He could have let Keith leave earlier. He could have driven him back. He could have offered Keith the place on his couch. He could have called Shiro and told him that Keith was on his way, even that would have been an improvement.

He stumbled blindly over to the side of Keith’s bed. Softly as he could, Lance wrapped his hand around Keith’s fingers and was surprised by how cold they were. Keith needed his rest and Lance didn’t want to wake him so it took everything he had not to let out the sob that was threatening to breach his lips. Instead, silent tears streaked his face.

He loved Keith more than he could describe after knowing him since middle school. Keith had always been there for him, through anything and everything. Whenever either of them needed a shoulder to cry on, they’d trust the other. Whenever either of them had a crazy idea that would surely get them into trouble, the other was always there to encourage it and join. There were no secrets between them, there was only complete trust and sincerity. Two souls, completely in sync. Of course, they still fought and argued, they still rivalled each other and attempted to one-up the other every chance they got, but it was all in good fun and jest. That was how their relationship worked, bettering each other and building them both up. Lance and Keith; neck and neck, hand in hand. Never one without the other.

That’s how Lance always wanted it to be; him and Keith. Because he loved Keith’s everything. The way his smile lit up the entire room. The crinkle in his eyes when he sincerely laughed. His laugh in general; how he snorts if he laughs too hard. How hard of an exterior he builds up only to be so soft on the inside. Everything is an extreme with him. He can’t just let things pass under the radar, he will throw everything he has into justice. How much he cares for others, especially children. The fact he’s secretly in love with things like the night sky, cliff lookouts, gentle music, rain.

Even the specifics of Keith were beautiful to Lance. When Keith would agree to watch stupid movies with Lance, booing and throwing popcorn whenever the obvious bad guy appeared on screen. How Keith would just let Lance’s little sisters braid his hair or paint his nails. The overwhelming recklessness Keith felt that led him to drive as fast as he could through the desert on his bike, sometimes with Lance. How attached Keith was to his stupid gloves and cropped jacket. The passion he held towards being a pilot, being in the air, feeling free. How he was completely ridiculous in everything he did and yet still so practical and logical. Lance figured it was because Keith had the uncanny ability to make even the dumbest plans work by sheer will power and determination mixed around in an impulsive cocktail, but even when Keith was wrong about something, he was still kind of right at the same time.

Keith was someone who everyone called fearless, but that wasn’t true. Lance knew that Keith wasn’t afraid of anything that gave him the adrenalin rush he so craved, but he was afraid of abandonment, being left behind, being forgotten, and those he loved and cared for being hurt. Keith wasn’t fearless. He was a badass though and he would stab the person who made any of his friends and family even feel the slightest bit of doubt about themselves. Everyone was hesitant about Keith because of his confrontational anger, but once you got to know him, it was obvious that he was just kid with a big heart and a low tolerance for mistreatment of others.

Lance squeezed Keith’s hand gently. “Wake up soon, Keith.” He whispered.

After he left the room and everyone else had a chance to see Keith, Lance returned home feeling slightly less awful than when he had left, not by much though. It took him awhile to fall asleep once he made it to his bed, so he texted Pidge and Hunk until he couldn’t avoid sleep anymore.

 

◊ ◊ ◊

 

The next day, the very first thing Lance did was grab a bagel from the pantry and rush to the car again. Visiting would be open by the time he got there, and he wanted to be right there when Keith finally woke up. To make sure Keith was okay, to apologize, to see those eyes like a nebula of life staring back at him.

He ate his bagel eagerly while he drove, mostly stress eating. With the bagel in his mouth and one hand on the wheel, Lance fumbled around with his phone until he was able to call Shiro. The hands free rang a few times before he picked up.

“Lance, let me guess, you’re going to ask about Keith?” Shiro sounded tired.

“Yeah, how is he? Has he woken up yet?” Lance drove a little faster.

Shiro sighed heavily. “No… No, not yet… Doctor says it could be a couple hours.”

“Wait, are you already there?” Lance asked, arching an eyebrow even though Shiro couldn’t see.

“They let me in because I’m family.” Shiro explained. “He looks better than yesterday. That could just be because I’ve had time to process.”

“I’ll be there in a moment, Shiro!” Lance called into the car mic. He pulled up to the hospital and parked, swiftly exiting the car and hurrying along until he reached Keith’s room. Politely, he knocked, but every part of Lance was twitching, unable to sit still. Finally, Shiro opened the door and ushered Lance inside. Once he was inside, he could see Keith, in exactly the same position as when he had left him the day before.

Hesitantly, Lance pulled a seat from the corner and pushed it closer to Keith’s bed on the opposite side of the chair which obviously belonged to Shiro. The door clicked shut and Shiro sauntered back over to his chair. His footsteps echoed in the quiet room. Lance had been too busy the day before to notice, but Shiro looked exhausted. He probably hadn’t slept, waiting for a call from the hospital that Keith had woken up. Neither of them spoke, just stared at Keith relaxed face, still with its cuts and bruises. Shiro was right, they did look better than the day before.

“That stupid thing is going to get him killed one day.” Shiro muttered, more to himself than Lance.

“What?” Lance muttered back.

Shiro glanced up. “His motorcycle. I hate that thing but he loves it so much.”

Lance laughed. “Yeah, he’s really attached to Carmine.” That bike meant a heck of a lot to Lance too, but he’d never tell anyone that.

There was another long silence where they both just listened to the beeping of the monitor.

“Lance.” Shiro said suddenly.

Lance met his eye. “Yeah?”

“You can’t blame yourself.” Shiro stated.

Furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, Lance tilted his head slightly. “What do you mean?” He asked.

“I know you blame yourself, you always do. But this isn’t your fault, alright?” Shiro’s gaze was intense, as if he was staring into Lance’s very soul.

“I could’ve stopped this…” Lance whispered, turning back to Keith again, if only to avoid Shiro’s stare.

Next to him, there was a sigh. “You couldn’t have known this was going to happen, Lance.”

Lance frowned. He reached his hand over to brush a piece of Keith’s bangs out of his eye.

“Just don’t beat yourself up over it.” Shiro finished. Lance just nodded. He knew Shiro meant well, but Lance could only see the entire situation as being his own fault. Keith wouldn’t blame him though, no one would, only Lance himself. Because only Lance could see where he messed up.

 

◊ ◊ ◊

 

Lance and Shiro spent the majority of the day waiting for Keith to wake up. Not long after Lance had gotten there, Allura, Coran, Hunk, and Pidge showed up. They all stayed for awhile too. To pass the time and ease the tension, they played games and told memories they all had of worse stuff Keith had done or been through, all things that he had bounced right back from. It helped everyone to assure themselves that Keith was going to be fine.

The time when Keith had broken his arm jumping off a building because he didn’t think it was that high up. Or the time when Keith was trying to catch Pidge’s cat, Rover, after he had climbed up onto the window sill of the next apartment over. He slipped and broke his knee and dislocated his shoulder after landing on the fire escape. There was also the incident when Pidge had asked him to try eating something, thinking he wouldn’t do it, but he was so tired and out of it that he didn’t even question her and ended up in the emergency room. One time, while out with Lance and Allura, he had gotten so drunk that he couldn’t tell left from right and just wandered right into the street when Lance had his back turned. He got hit by a car, but luckily the driver wasn’t going too terribly fast and he only broke his one leg.

Eventually, the nurses asked them to leave so they could look after Keith’s medications, at which point they all went to the cafeteria to get something to keep their energy up. The food wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t that great either.

They played a lot of Eye Spy, by Hunk’s suggestion, until they ran out of good options and everyone was bored. Then they played Truth Or Dare until Pidge’s dares started to get to disruptive and Shiro shut it down. They played other games like the Guess That Animal Game, Never Have I Ever, Two Truths And A Lie, and Make It Or Break It. Really anything that any of them could think of.

After one more visit to Keith to say goodbye and check if he was awake, each of them secretly hoping that Keith would wake up if they just waited a moment longer. Lance hugged his friends before making his way home.

He knew that Keith would wake up soon and this would be just like all the other times, but he was still worried. And then there was the other issue. Did Keith even want to talk to him after everything that happened the night before? Not only with the part where Lance asked Keith out, but also because it was Lance’s fault he got in the accident at all. What if that ruined their friendship for good?

No, Lance was being overdramatic again. Keith would still be his best friend, of course, he would. They were Lance and Keith. It would be fine. Lance settled himself into bed, choosing to watch television until he felt sleepy. There weren’t any good shows up, but Lance found enough to numb his brain. Eventually, he drifted off to sleep.

His sleep, however, was once again short lived. The phone rang. Normally he wouldn’t have noticed at all and would have just left it, but he was waiting for a call from anyone to tell him that Keith was alright. And sure enough, it was Shiro. Instantly, Lance picked up, placing the phone to his ear.

“Shiro?” Lance yelled into the phone, completely awake and alert.

“Lance, the hospital just called. Keith woke up.” Shiro was smiling in his voice.

Lance rolled out of bed. “I’m on my way!” He was smiling himself. Quickly as he could, he threw on a jacket. Right as he was about to rush out of the room, Shiro stopped him.

“No, no, Lance. Visiting hours ended, we have to go back tomorrow.”

“What? But Shiro–”

Shiro interrupted Lance. “I know, I know. I want to see him too, but he’ll be there tomorrow too.”

Sighing and seating himself back down on his bed, Lance relented. “Okay…”

“Good.” Shiro praised. “Now, I have to call the others. Have a good night, Lance, try to get some sleep. You can’t see Keith if you’re too tired to keep your eyes open.”

“Yeah. Goodnight, Shiro.” And with that, Shiro hung up.

Lance sat on the edge of his bed for a moment, just thinking. Keith was awake. He could text Keith? Maybe it was just better to see him the next day. Did Keith even want to see him? It was better to see him in person than to text him, that was for sure at least. Did Keith have access to his phone at all?

Despite telling Shiro that he was going to sleep, he really wasn’t able to. Not when he was just told that Keith was awake. If Keith was awake, he should be too. That wasn’t exactly a rule. In fact, that was a little bit ridiculous, but Lance was a little bit ridiculous himself, especially in matters relating to Keith. He stared down at his phone for a moment, watching the screen dim when he didn’t touch it. Then he made the executive decision to text the boy already. He pulled opened the messaging app and clicked on his conversation with Keith.

 

**Lance**

keith buddy! youre awake right???

shiro said you were

are you getting these????

well text me back when you do okay?

i just wanna make sure youre okay :(

 

Lance waited awhile, but he didn’t get a response. It was pretty late after all, but Keith wouldn’t be tired, he had just woken up. Lance reluctantly laid back down in bed and continued to watch tv, glancing at his phone every so often to check if Keith had answered him. He hadn’t. Everything that happened in Lance’s show just went right through one ear and out the other. He was far too focused on Keith to actually care about his show.

It was about another hour later when Lance had nearly dozed off again and the phone rang. Startling to attention, Lance scanned the dark room. The light from the television shrouded everything in a dull glow. For a moment, Lance was sure the ringing was from the show, but then when he realized it was coming from somewhere next to him, he began frantically fumbling around in the sheets to find his phone. When he found it, he checked, and it was Shiro again. Lance quickly picked up.

“Shiro?” His voice was groggy even though he was worried.

“Shiro, what’s going on?” It was Pidge. Shiro must have made a group call.

There was a yawn. “I was sleeping, buddy…” Hunk whined.

“I can’t wake Coran, Shiro, he already took his pills.” Allura’s tired, quiet voice came through.

Once again, Shiro sounded frantic. “The hospital called again and they can’t find Keith.”

“Um… What do you mean they can’t _find_ Keith?” Pidge asked impatiently.

“He’s missing!” Shiro yelled. No one liked when Shiro got loud because it meant things were serious. Shiro never yelled.

Hunk let out a low whine. “Not again…”

“Did someone kidnap him?!” Lance screeched.

“Knowing him, he probably escaped.” Pidge sighed.

Allura spoke up then. “He can’t get very far, can he? He’s not in very good condition.”

“Allura’s right. Yeah. He’s probably still in the hospital.” Shiro didn’t sound like he was even convincing himself.

“Well, hey, at least he can’t get back on his bike.” Pidge pointed out. “Y’know, since he totalled it.”

“Pidge, you’re not helping.” Hunk informed her.

Lance was about to say something, but before he could, there was a clicking sound from somewhere down the hallway. Cautiously, Lance listened. It sounded like someone was outside. “I’m going to have to call you guys back…” He whispered before hanging up the phone, leaving no time for the others to answer. Slowly, he stood from the bed, wincing as it creaked. His phone was gripped tightly in his quivering knuckles, ready to be used to call the police at any moment.

The window down the hall was shimmied open. Lance never locked that one in particular because sometimes his friends would come over in the middle of the night. Mostly it was Keith, coming to invite him to do some crazy stunt or operation, but still, it wasn’t safe. Lance shuffled down the hallway as silently as he was able. As he came to the door of the room which held the window, he heard someone step inside the house. He held his breath and psyched himself up before roughly shoving the door open to face the burglar.

There, crawling into his house in the dead of night through the unlocked window, was the missing boy himself; Keith. His black hair was matted to his forehead he was still in his hospital gown with his pants, boots, and his red leather jacket, which was resting around his left shoulder where he couldn’t fit his cast into the sleeve. He stumbled along through the window frame, nearly falling over.

“Keith?!” Lance shouted. He was supposed to be in the hospital! What the hell did that idiot think he was doing?! Lance dropped his phone.

Keith finally looked up, startled. His face brightened when he saw the other boy standing there. The expression on his face was juxtaposed by all the cuts and bruises along his skin. “Lance, hey!” Lance had never been so happy and so panicked to see Keith in his entire life. Suddenly, he winced. “Fuck!” Keith hissed.

Lance suddenly jolted into action, rushing forward to help Keith sit down on a nearby chair, but Keith was having none of that. Instead, he pushed forward, grabbing onto Lance’s forearms. “Keith, why aren’t you in the hospital?!” Lance began to check Keith to make sure he wasn’t going to hurt himself further, holding him by the elbows.

“I realized that you were actually asking me out!” Keith smiled brightly.

Lance, thoroughly confused on how that was relevant at that moment, stared back incredulously. “What?”

Keith frowned. “That’s what you were doing at the playground, right? Asking me out?”

Swallowing nervously, still quite confused, Lance nodded. “Well, yes… I love you, Keith…” He blushed and averted his eyes. “But that’s not important! You should be in–”

Before he could finish speaking, Keith was pushing forward and pressing his lips to Lance’s in a frenzied kiss. Keith’s arms came up to tangle through Lance’s hair and pull him in further. Lance completely melted, forgetting everything he was about to say. All his thoughts were focused on Keith. Beautiful, wonderful, vibrant Keith, so close to him yet still tugging closer. The feeling of Keith against him, the heat, the humming sound that Keith was making, the hands massaging his head and tangling his hair, everything was perfect. It was almost exactly as Lance had imagined it.

Their lips glided over each other roughly as they attempted to work out a pattern or a rhythm. He tasted vaguely like copper and his lips were chapped but Lance did mind one bit, his heart was still beating out of his chest. Resting his hands on Keith’s waist, he urged the boy ever closer until

“Ah– Shit!” Keith instantly jerked away from Lance’s touch, stumbling backwards and cradling his hip.

“Sorry! I’m sorry!” Lance stared down at Keith’s side, suddenly remembering that Keith needed to be in the hospital, not in Lance’s house making out with him, no matter how desirable the second option might have been. “Keith! We need to get you to the hospital, oh my god!” He grabbed Keith by the hand and gently tugged him along.

Keith stopped them again, drawing Lance’s attention. “Friday?” He asked, his smile just as bright.

“Friday?” Lance repeated, not understanding.

“That date you mentioned.” Keith clarified.

Lance lit up, smiling to match Keith’s. “Yeah.” Lance nodded enthusiastically, hardly believing what was happening. “Yeah! Friday!”

Keith’s face softened into a look of endearment as he stared happily at Lance. Their fingers intertwined together and for a moment everything was perfect, exactly as Lance had always hoped it could be. Then Lance remembered once again.

“Keith!” He suddenly shouted, startling Keith. “The hospital!” His phone was on the ground from where he had dropped it. Quickly scooping it up, Lance began dialling Shiro’s number. “Shiro is worried about you! Everyone is! How did you even get here? How did you even get out of the hospital?!” His phone was ringing.

“Hitchhiked.” Keith explained briefly.

“Keith! You can’t just do that what if you– Shiro, hey!”

“Lance! Did you find Keith?” Shiro frantically asked.

Lance turned to glare at Keith but he really couldn’t when Keith was weaving his fingers through Lance’s and studying the lines on his palm. Instead, he just smiled at the boy. “Yeah, I got him. I’m taking him back to the hospital.” Lance began leading Keith down the hallway again.

“Oh, thank goodness…” Shiro sighed into the phone. “Can I talk to him? Let me talk to him.”

Lance paused and raised his hand with Keith’s still interlocked. He handed the phone off to Keith once he got his attention, never breaking the contact between their hands. Keith held it to his ear. “Hey, Shiro.” Keith greeted.

Lance couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation but it didn’t sound good from the way that Keith was whining and reassuring Shiro through the phone. He chuckled, still dragging Keith to the car. Once they were in the car and Keith was safely strapped in, Lance began pulling out of the driveway again.

“Shiro, I’m sorry, okay! I had something I had to do and–” A pause. “Yes! It was that important! And I–” Keith let out a long-suffering sigh which led into a groan. “Yes, yes, Lance is taking me back.” Lance snorted when Keith stared at him with the deadest expression he had ever seen. “ _Yes_. I will stay this time.” Keith paused again. “Alright. Goodnight, Shiro, see you tomorrow.” Keith pulled the phone away and hung up before handing it back to Lance. They were already halfway to the hospital.

“Shiro is just worried about you. We all are.” Lance smiled over at Keith before returning his eyes to the road.

“Yeah, I know.” Keith sighed. “The only reason I was in the accident in the first place is because I realized that you were actually asking me out, not making fun of me, and I made an illegal U-turn on the highway.”

“Keith!” Lance screeched. “You could have just turned around calmly!”

“You’d be asleep by then.”

Lance sighed. “You should have called me or something!”

Keith clicked his tongue. “Can’t kiss you over the phone, idiot.” He said, as if it were the most obvious thing.

“Okay, but you got hit.” Lance reiterated.

“Details, details.” Keith waved his hand dismissively. “Just promise you’ll come visit me until I’m out of the hospital.”

Lance smiled despite himself. “Okay, I promise.”

They pulled into the parking lot for the hospital and Keith got out, followed shortly by Lance. He walked with Keith all the way to the front desk. They signed Keith back in and he was allowed to have his room back once again so he could be treated. There was a high chance that Keith made his injuries worse when he was escaping and climbing into Lance’s window. Lance followed Keith all the way to his room as well, hand-in-hand, where nurses were waiting to check Keith’s vitals. They didn’t look very pleased that Keith had fled in the first place.

Right outside the door, Lance pulled Keith to a stop and faced him again. “See you tomorrow.” Keith smiled.

Lance quickly leaned down the press another short kiss to Keith’s lips before pulling away. “See you tomorrow.” He repeated.

Keith turned and made his way back to his room while Lance went the opposite way, back to his car. Once he was there, he called Shiro on the hands-free, adding Hunk, Pidge, and Allura to the group call as well.

“Hello, Lance.” Shiro greeted.

“Lance!” Hunk cheered.

“Heard you found Keith, how’s he doing?” Pidge asked.

“He’s an idiot who doesn’t understand injuries but he’s back at the hospital again.” Lance couldn’t keep the smile out of his voice.

Allura sighed. “That’s wonderful news, Lance!”

“That’s not the only wonderful news!” He chuckled slyly.

“Is this what I think it is?” Pidge frantically whispered.

Hunk gasped. “Buddy, you didn’t!”

“But I did!” Lance yelled excitedly before dropping his volume back into a normal tone. “I got a date with Keith!”

Pidge began incoherently screaming into the group call.

“Lance, I’m so proud of you!” Allura laughed.

“You better not try anything, Lance.” Shiro said sternly. “But I am happy for you two.”

Hunk sniffled suddenly. “They’re growing up so fast!”

Suddenly, someone called Lance. Without checking who it was, he merged the calls. “Who it be?” He asked.

“Lance, I fucked my rib up when I climbed in your window and they need to realign it.” Keith’s voice came through.

“Keith, no more climbing in Lance’s window!” Hunk berated.

“Hunk’s here?” Keith asked.

Pidge chortled. “What’re you climbing in your boyfriend’s window for, huh, Keith?”

“Wha– Nothing!” Lance’s voice squeaked. He almost swerved off the road.

“Lance, you told them already!” Keith shouted.

Shiro jumped in on the conversation. “Keith, stop injuring yourself for boys!”

“Shiro!”

Allura and Pidge were laughing and Hunk was stifling his giggles.

“I’m leaving.” Keith huffed before hanging up.

Lance couldn’t help but smile. He was dating that boy. That boy was his. He couldn’t be happier if he tried and Lance was more than excited to see him again, even if it was in the hospital. On top of it all, he had a date with Keith on Friday. Lance probably would have squealed if he wasn’t still in the group call.

 

◊ ◊ ◊

 

“We could have just picked a different date.” Keith sunk his fork into the cake on the table in front of him.

“Nope! I said Friday and you said Friday!” Lance smiled.

Keith couldn’t help the half-smile on his face. “Because I thought I’d be out of here by now.”

The sounds of people around them as they shuffled in and out of the cafeteria were quiet, yet still lively. It smelled like antiseptic and chicken, but Lance didn’t think it took anything away from his date with Keith.

“But I can’t wait that long!” Lance complained. He scooped off a piece of their shared cake, eating it and humming in happiness.

Keith snorted. “Lance, I get out tomorrow.”

“And as I said, I can’t wait that long.” Lance stabbed Keith’s fork with his own. “Besides, this is perfect because it’s with you.”

“That’s so cheesy.” Keith’s face softened and he hesitantly reached his hand over to press his fingers in between Lance’s. “But I agree.”

Lance lifted Keith’s hand, trailing his thumb along his fingers. Keith blushed lightly as he watched Lance. Slowly, Lance brought Keith’s hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to the back of his hand. He glanced up to meet Keith’s eyes, gazing into them lovingly for a moment. Then he smirked and wiped Keith’s hand along his face, using it as a napkin.

“Oh, gross! Lance!” Keith shrieked suddenly. Lance laughed. Swiping a finger through some of the side icing, Keith quickly leaned forward and smeared it over Lance’s cheek. Lance screeched and leaned back. “Serves you right, ass.” Keith laughed.

Lance ran his finger through the icing too. “C’mere, let me do your makeup.” He gently reached out towards Keith’s face with his other hand. Keith laughed and obliged, leaning toward the centre of the table. As Lance applied the white icing to Keith as if it were lip gloss. Keith stared down his nose at Lance, trying not to laugh.

Finally, Lance moved back. “There!”

“Do I look good or what?” Keith teased.

“Drop dead gorgeous.” Lance answered. Then he quickly leaned forward and kissed Keith, licking some of the icing off in the process.

“Lance!” Keith laughed, covering his face with his hands. He used his napkin to get rid of the rest of the icing.

Lance laughed, grabbing Keith’s hand to wipe the cake off it too. He licked his thumb and rubbed it into Keith’s skin.

“Stop, I don’t want your saliva on me.” Keith complained, but making no effort to pull his hand away.

“That’s not what you were saying last night.” Lance smirked, waggling his eyebrows.

Keith snorted. “This may be our first date, but it can also be our last.” He warned, still smiling.

Lance just smiled back. “I love you, Keith!” He interlocked their hands again.

Rolling his eyes, Keith squeezed Lance’s hand. “Yeah, yeah. _I guess_ I love you too.”

Lance and Keith sat there in the hospital cafeteria, eating a discount strawberry Safeway cake, enjoying each others company while still making jabs as always, for their first date. Keith’s face was mostly healed except for a couple scabs and the bruises, but they didn’t matter. It wasn’t the best first date, as far as first dates go, but to them it couldn’t have been better. They’d both waited a long time for that date and no car accident was going to get in the way. Nothing really changed between the two of them, they still did everything they did before; going to the park at midnight, driving around on Keith’s motorcycle, playing board games at Pidge’s house, the like. Except, with much more hand holding and kissing.

And Keith promised that if he had something important to say or do, he wouldn’t make anymore illegal U-turns on the highway, he’d just call.

**Author's Note:**

> Really I just wanted more misunderstandings and Keith escaping out of a hospital in the name of love.  
> This fic got away from me. I didn't think it would breach 6,000 words.  
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
